YuMe, Inc. (NYSE:YUME), the global audience technology company powered by data-driven insights and multi-screen expertise, today announced the availability of an immersive 360 degree video ad format for brands and advertisers.

Consumers can connect with brands on their own terms by controlling the ad experience through swiping or moving their mobile device for realistic and immersive product interaction. The mobile experience powered by Celtra’s 360° Video ad format is one of the first in the industry, bringing immersive, interactive ad experiences previously not available with traditional two-dimensional video.

“With mobile virtual reality (“VR”) set to eclipse desktop, we’re excited to be one of the first in the industry to offer our clients the ability to immerse their customers in a highly interactive and engaging branded video experience – available through the power and ease of our SDK,” said Mike O’Donnell, Senior Vice President North American Sales, YuMe. “Clients are able to gain insights into how their customers engage through metrics unique to 360 degree video, which is important for managing campaign objectives and KPIs. This includes tracking engagement based on where the user is looking in the panoramic field of view.”

According to Deloitte Global, VR will have its first billion dollar year in 2016, with about $700 million in hardware sales, and the remainder from content, while Digi-Capital forecasts that augmented reality (AR) combined with VR could hit $120 billion in revenue by 2020, with AR taking the lion’s share around $90 billion and VR at $30 billion.

The key benefits of YuMe’s 360 degree video ad unit include:

Delivers immersive ad experience at scale without the need for a dedicated app to view the ad

New reporting metrics on how customers interact with brand creative to attain key learnings and drive campaign objectives

About YuMe

YuMe, Inc. (NYSE: YUME) is a leading provider of global audience technologies, curating relationships between brand advertisers and consumers of premium video content across a growing range of connected devices. Combining data-driven technologies with deep insight into audience behavior, YuMe offers brand advertisers end-to-end marketing software that establishes greater brand resonance with engaged consumers. It is the evolution of brand advertising for an ever-expanding video ecosystem. YuMe is headquartered in Redwood City, California, with worldwide offices.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those in management quotations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue” and “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about the future of virtual reality, the impact and value of 360 degree video ad format, product offerings, strategic partnerships, and the benefits derived therefrom, growth strategies; operating results; market trends; and quotations from management. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from future results that are expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include YuMe’s history of net losses and limited operating history, which make it difficult to evaluate prospects, YuMe’s fluctuating quarterly results of operations, and dependence on a limited number of customers in a highly competitive industry. These and other risk factors are discussed under “Risk Factors” in YuMe’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 that has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and in our future filings and reports with the SEC. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to YuMe as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.